Since 1997, the South Carolina
Sheriffs’ Association has
offered
an in-the-line
of
duty death benefit, paid to the spouse
or parent of a
slain
deputy sheriff. Our $10,000
death benefit in
no way takes away the pain of such a loss, but it does
relieve, in
the aftermath of such
a tragedy,
the stress
of
immediate financial needs.

Since our decision to pay these benefits 19 deputies have
sacrificed their lives in
the protection
of their communities,
and we
have paid $190,000 in benefits. We
do this quietly and
without fanfare.

Honorary Members, one
of you,
came
up with a unique
idea for maintaining the
death benefit fund.
Rather than doing a
special appeal to
raise
additional revenue
to cover the costs
of
the death benefit, why not create the
Fallen Heroes Partnership? The idea is
that each patron
of
the partnership will pledge $50.00
to
the death benefit program each time wepay a
benefit.
With enough members, this would replace
the
$10,000 benefit, and will keep the
benefit account in positive numbers. You
send no money now, only when a benefit is actually paid by the
South Carolina Sheriffs’ Association.